Released Soul (Book One: Earth)
by ImSuperSiriusGuys
Summary: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez has one goal: regain his title as prince of the fire nation. Ichigo Kurosaki is the Avatar - which is as much news to him as it is to everyone else. When Ichigo is captured by Grimmjow, Rukia and Renji set out to save their friend. (GrimmIchi, yaoi, AU, Avatar: The Last Airbender world, with only Bleach characters. Co-written.)
1. Chapter 1

**RELEASED SOUL**

_Book One: Earth_

* * *

**This is co-written.**

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_Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap._

The sound of a quill-tip scraping the edge of parchment, ink dripping from its end each time.

_It is believed the Avatar has taken up hiding somewhere in the Eastern Earth Kingdom. Your mission is to draw him out and present him, alive, at the Fire Nation Capital in thirty days' time._

_P.S.: Be wary of the messenger hawk, General Jaegerjaquez - it bites._

Dark blue eyes scanned the last few lines of the parchment in front of him. Errantly, he flicked his hand at the hawk that had leaned forward to nip his knuckle - a zap of electricity flew from his fingertips, startling the bird into stumbling backward with a large screech, its wings fluttering anxiously and sending the papers scattering across the cabin of the room.

"Grimm-_jow_!" a voice sing-songed into the silence of the room cheerily.

Grimmjow jerked upright, eyes pinching in anger as he curled his hands into fists. He stood up from his desk, pushing the chair grumpily underneath it and crossing his arms as he acknowledged the man.

"What do you want, Ichimaru?"

"I told you, it's Uncle Gin," the silver-haired man corrected lightly, surveying the room with his hands tucked behind his back. "My-my, what a mess!" He wandered carefully past the papers scattered across the room, leaning his head slightly out the window of the boat, smiling down at the foamy sea waves that hit against the metal sides far below.

"Get out of my room," Grimmjow snapped, glaring at the man, an unamused frown settling across his features as he stubbornly left the papers on the floor. He tilted his head back in silent exasperation, surveying the chandelier hanging from the grey ceiling, admiring the blue flames for a moment as he resisted the urge to yell.

It only seemed to encourage the fox-like man's behavior.

"But we're all having so much fun downstairs!" Gin crowed invitingly over his shoulder as he waved slightly down at the crew on deck. Grimmjow wandered closer with an arched eyebrow, glancing out at the men who were responding to the silver-haired man's wave with looks of confused anxiety, pausing in their work as a few waved back hesitantly.

"I'm sure," Grimmjow responded blankly, sending a mean look at the workers over Gin's shoulder. They quickly scrambled away from view - the few who had been playing at the Pai Sho table standing up and pretending to fiddle with the cannons with airs of importance.

"Come play Pai Sho?" Gin asked somewhat poutingly as he pulled his head inside from the window, whisking out a white lotus tile from his sleeves momentarily and twirling it lightly between his fingertips.

"No," Grimmjow responded coolly, stepping back to gesture toward the door again.

Gin pouted playfully, leaving the tile on Grimmjow's desk. "If you change your mind," he sing-songed again as he stepped toward the door.

The metal door swung closed again as Grimmjow fell back on to his bed with a frustrated grunt of acknowledgement. He tilted his neck back to rest the base of his skull against the wall for a moment, listening to the receding footsteps and the sound of the waves crashing into the boat.

With an exhausted sigh, the blue-haired man reached up a hand slowly to pull the partial-mask from his jawline. The bone-like material came loose as the blue fire in his hand heated up the material, letting it fall into his lap to reveal a reddish scar marring the skin.

He placed the mask silently into the drawer of his bedside table, maneuvering out of his bed shirt as he sat back again.

He swung to his feet after a moment of hesitation, wandering over to the mirror to tilt his head at the still-startling reflection.

An angry, red scar ran up his stomach, halting momentarily where his head had tucked in, and stretching on across his jawline. By now, it was only 6 months old - and had showed little sign of fading. A swell of red-hot rage fanned up inside him, electricity buzzing murderously at his fingertips.

Snorting out a laugh, he turned away from the mirror again, shrugging his shoulders and falling back on to his bed, glaring moodily up at the ceiling.

He'd be _king_, whenever Aizen died; if that happened to be suspiciously timed when he regained his title as prince, well, people would speculate.

He could just kill them too.

* * *

"_Ichi-go_!"

_Splash_.

Water dripping rapidly from the ends of orange locks, Ichigo blinked the water from his eyelashes. A few feet away, Isshin Kurosaki held an empty bucket, a triumphant look spread across his features.

"What was that for?!" Ichigo yelled, snapping his neck upright to glare into his father's playful eyes as he lifted his shoulders and arms awkwardly away from his drenched body.

"Water-bending attack!" Isshin crowed, dancing away from the infuriated redhead and into the kitchen of their one-floor home. "Imagine, Ichigo - if I had been a water-bender waiting to ambush you. What then? How would you have defended yourself?" he wailed.

Ichigo snorted, rolling his eyes and shaking his head side-to-side like a dog. "It's the fire nation attacking, not the water tribes. And you shouldn't make jokes about things like that," the teen said grumpily, pulling his soaked shirt over his head and tossing it over to the dirtied laundry. "I'm going out with Renji and Rukia, is that all right?" he added as his father wandered over to the herb table, grinding up some random rock (or maybe it was dirt.)

Isshin opened his mouth to protest, but his son took it as assent, nodding as he snatched up a baguette from the bowl of bread in the kitchen. He tucked it between his teeth, pulling a new, dusty-green shirt from the clean laundry basket and pulling it over his head, his orange hair already beginning to dry. "See ya', old man," he called over his shoulder, kicking his heel down to open an optional door in the side of the house, closing it after himself as his dad whined complaints.

Ichigo blew out a breath, running a hand through his drying hair as he looked around, starting his way into the village, eyes peeled for his iconically loud friends.

"Oi, listen here all right, this isn't _my_ brat - you got it?"

Renji Abarai stood, shouting at the top of his lungs, the tattoos on his arms flexing as he squeezed his hands into fists, raising his voice continually at an enraged cart-owner.

"I am _not_ a _brat!_" an equally-enraged, female voice screeched - the shout was shortly followed by curses of pain from Renji.

"My _cabbages!_" the cart-keeper kept on, voice tight in rage.

"Oi, Renji!" Ichigo called, lifting his hand in a slight wave as he jogged over, bare feet beneath his feet coverings picking up the overwhelming tension from the group of three as he approached. "Sorry sir, this here's my little sister. She's a helpless blind, and she's a bit of an idiot," Ichigo said quickly, setting a hand on to Rukia's head.

The black-haired girl quickly began to shake in rage, and Ichigo consequentially lifted his hand, taking a hesitant step back.

"I'll have your heads - one for each head of cabbage," the crazed shopkeeper sobbed as he bent down, going to pick up the leafy-green vegetables.

"You're crazy," Renji sniffed, reaching back to fix his ponytail and shifting his eyes closed as he lifted his head to the heavy summer sun. "About time you showed up Ichigo," he added as the two of them turned around, Renji reaching back a hand idly to guide Rukia along with them before she could start with the shopkeeper again - or deny being an idiot. "We've been waiting for you," he added, nodding back to the slightly wrecked cart area, where a shipping cart lay smashed in the middle of.

Ichigo laughed slightly, tilting his head back to narrow his eyes at the slowly setting sun. "I thought Rukia hated riding those things," he added confusedly after a moment, turning to give Renji an arched look - to which he responded with a smile.

"I do," the girl insisted, jerking her arm away from Renji as she gave up her attempt to shout swear-words back at the cart-keeper. "I was wearing these stupid things," the girl said, gesturing down to her feet where she wore expensive-looking new shoes, "and I couldn't break them, or my brother would have noticed. And _he,_" Rukia paused, pointing a finger very accusingly up at Renji, who simply arched a ridiculous eyebrow at the girl's gesture, "took me on one of those things without telling me where we were going."

"Hey, hey, it all would have been just fine," Renji argued slightly, raising his hands in an appeasing gesture when the small, blind girl clenched her hands threateningly, "but she had to go and flip out, do that weird little rocky-thingy you guys do, and send us flying right into that poor man's cart. And then, she tried to blame it on me."

Rukia's pale eyes widened imperceptibly and she stomped one foot in a seeming fit of anger, the earth from underneath Renji seeming to jerk backwards at the last moment, sending the red-head backwards into the dirt with a grunt.

Clearing her throat with an innocent smile, and seeming quite pleased as Renji pulled himself to his feet sending her a dirty look, the girl tilted her head in the opposite of Ichigo's direction (the shoes were obviously still hindering her ability to see, but neither of the boys took the risk to tell her when she wandered in a slightly errant direction, instead just following her misguided lead) "You were late, anyway, where were you?" she asked. "We don't have any time for practice now," she snapped.

"Yeah, Ichigo, we were finally going to try knife-throwing today," Renji added in a pout, Rukia sending him a scowl as he did so.

"That's not important, his training in earth-bending _is_," Rukia argued.

"Oi, just because-"

"My dad kept me late," Ichigo cut in, putting a stop to another one of the two's arguments before it could get too heated. "Why don't we have time tonight, anyway? We have all night. I don't like to practice with the little fan-club hanging around, anyway," he said with a shrug.

"Because the rock festival is tonight!" Renji shouted, banging his head emphatically to imaginary music. Ichigo rolled his eyes, and after pausing in thought, Renji shuddered. "Speaking of fan-club, that stupid pervert Urahara has moved his shop even closer to the practice ring today. He kept offering Rukia and I candy," he said.

"I like Kisuke," Rukia protested with a pout. "He has a good heart, I can feel it," she said confidently. "I have good intuition, trust me on these things," she added as she nearly walked into a wall, Ichigo discreetly sliding in between her and the building. She bumped into him, huffing and glaring up as she did so. "Watch where you're going, Twinkletoes."

"Sorry," Ichigo offered politely as she started away from the wall, following after while stifling a smile. "So are we going to the festival?"

"'Are we going to the festival?' _Are we going_-Rukia, look what you've done to Ichigo!" he shouted at the smug earthbender, who had stopped, arms akimbo as she stood in the center of the dead-end street where they had practiced daily for the past two months, having moved from the square after one too many run-ins with the overzealous cabbage salesman.

He turned to shoot Ichigo an exasperated look, his arms thrown up for extra effect. "Of course we're going, Ichigo! The rock festival is only the _coolest_ thing that comes to Boulder City, and Ikkaku mailed me this morning and told me that _The Rolling Pebbles_ are playing this year!" Renji half-shouted, half-whined.

Ichigo paused, frowning slightly and tilting his head to one side in thought. "Who are The Rolling Peb-"

"Oh, _Ichi_go!" a cheery voice called. The greeting was met with an exasperated groan from Renji, who stomped his heel into the dirt angrily, pointedly refusing to look up at the 'Hat-Candy-and-Sandal' cart or the blond-haired man who ran it, Kisuke Urahara.

The orange-haired earthbender turned and shot Kisuke a genial smile, lifting a hand in greeting. "Hey Urahara, sold any hats today?"

The man shot him back a playful grin as he placed an oversized, blue-rimmed hat with yellow feathers sticking out the side, onto a bare mannequin head, placing it slightly off-center. The salesman didn't look up as he answered: "Not yet, but you know what they say: 'It's not about the sales, it's about the people.'"

Ichigo nodded somewhat hesitantly, one eye pinching unsurely as he coughed. "Uh, yeah. Right. You don't mind us practicing here so close to your stand, do you?" he asked the man, whose stand had moved a good ten feet down the street—away from the other sales carts and onto the once quiet off-road—motioning to the sixty-foot square space around them that was closed off by the backs of businesses.

"Be my guest," the cart-keeper said in a benevolent tone, brandishing a large straw-colored hat, flipping it over into the palm of his hand and then scooping it onto his head, leaving a few strands of hair hanging down to obscure his shadowed face. "I'll just watch while I wait for the evening rush."

Ichigo smiled and nodded, turning back to his two friends.

"What did I say, total creep," Renji said somewhat lazily, tossing what appeared to be a throwing knife in his right hand a foot into the air, the blade spinning once completely before landing in his palm.

Ichigo scowled, opening his mouth to defend the man when he caught in the corner of his eye a piece of ground the size of his fist flying towards him. He side-stepped, turning and watching the piece of ground - bits of dirt flying off as it passed - zoom by his face, only missing it by inches before splatting into the back of their favorite noodle shop, Kusajishi Noodles.

He turned to his now-barefoot earthbending master as Renji muttered grumpily, spinning his knife between his fingertips.

"_Rukia_! I wasn't ready for that! You could have knocked my head off!"

The girl smiled widely, planting her left foot in front of her, stance wide. "That's not my fault,' she said, then stomped down with her more forward foot, sending a ripple in the ground towards where Ichigo stood.

Ichigo's eyes widened, and he jumped a few feet up into the air, feeling almost like he was floating for a few seconds, and out of the way before landing and immediately lifting out a cylinder of ground and shooting off slices towards the blind girl, who knocked each one down with a flick of her pointer finger, her expression bored as she sent the last one back at his face. He swung to the side, letting the piece of ground fly by him again.

"Is that the best you can do, _Twinkletoes_? What have I told you? _Don't_ move away, keep your ground! You'd think you were an airbender with those moves!" she roared, her voice surprisingly deep for her small frame.

Brown eyes hardened, and Ichigo squared himself again, centering himself over the earth, drawing on his powers. He took in a deep breath and lifted both hands, picking up two mounds of earth on either side of him, both in size larger than his teacher. He swung his hands forward and together, the terra mimicking the movement of his arms as they flew towards the girl.

Rukia lifted both hands digging her feet into the dirt, the earth slowing but not stopping before closing around her with a crushing sound.

Renji let out a whoop of joy from the side. "Good hit, Ichigo! Five more wins this week and you will pass her up!" he shouted encouragingly, having given up his pouting; his knife lay planted into the dirt a few feet away.

Ichigo ignored him as he watched a crack form down the middle of the mound of earth, the center pulling apart in pieces and falling away to either side, revealing a glowering Rukia.

"Maybe you should have dodged that!" he shouted with a laugh.

The sound quickly turned into a yelp of distress when the girl growled dangerously, blind eyes flashing with irritation, and sent his own shots back at him in the shape of daggers.


	2. Chapter 2

_Book One: Earth_

**Chapter Two**

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**Thanks so much for all the support, sorry this update took so long!**

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_"I look inside myself and see my heart is grey,  
_  
_"I see my red door I must have it made of stone,  
_  
_"Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts,  
_  
_"It's not easy facing up when your whole world is stone!"_

Ichigo grimaced as he tried to block out the roaring crowd and cheesy lyrics while he wandered away from the stands at The Rolling Pebble's concert. He left Renji, Ikkaku, and his dad to their head-banging as he went to find Rukia, who had disappeared saying she had to go to the bathroom about half an hour ago.

Either she had gotten lost because the bass was messing up her location abilities, or she had gotten sick of the noises too.

He trailed down a quieter street, away from the concert. Kids were still whizzing by giggling, running back and forth to different carnival games set up for the annual Rock Festival. A cold wind blew, ruffling his orange hair slightly in the breeze.

Feeling a tug on his pant leg, Ichigo looked down, and started at the small, red panda-like creature with wings that had its tiny paw hooked to his pants. He smiled, bent down, and looked into its unnervingly intelligent eyes.

The creature gave a bird or cat-like chirp and pointed its nose to a knocked over flower pot in front of a house a few meters away. Its clay pot was shattered, its dirt strewn all around, and the the aged peace lily that used to be inside was laying against the ground. The bloom had lost its vibrant, snow white color and had faded to a light, foliage-green.

Ichigo frowned at the sight and moved closer, running his hands over the clay plot to seal it back together and pulling it gently upright with his earthbending. He did the same with the dirt, and then carefully tucked the flower back into its damp home. It had been recently watered, and its roots seemed to be intact.

The creature affectionately head-butted his hand and Ichigo smiled as he patted its soft down feathers. "Sorry about that happening," he said quietly. The spirit looked up at him with wide grey eyes, before turning and running back toward a distant forest, its form fading to grey and then vanishing entirely before it reached the undergrowth.

Ichigo stood back up, brushing the dirt off his hands and looking around as the sounds of the festival registered in his mind again. He shoved both hands in his pocket and continued back up the street toward the festivities, the sun having set and the lanterns reflecting flickering light off of his bright orange hair.

"Mr. Kurosaki, enjoying the concert? Why not buy a T-shirt for memory's sake?" a business-like, cheery voice asked.

Ichigo turned with a surprised look at the voice and paused in his search for Rukia. "Urahara? What are you doing here?" he asked, glancing between some houses to where the man's cart had been set up just a little while ago. It seemed impossible for him to have completely set up shop again so rapidly. "And don't you sell hats?" he added in a puzzled voice.

The man pulled out a fan that had a grey stone embroidered on it, covering his mouth in a feminine fashion to hide a smirk. "It's about the customers, not the product," he said mysteriously.

Ichigo blinked, opened his mouth, then shut it again, nodding. "I don't think- right. Sure."

"Good, good! Your total will be-"

"No, Mr. Hat and Clogs, I won't be buying a shirt," the orange-haired earthbender cut him off. "Sorry, thanks though."

"But Ichigo, The Rolling Pebbles are really blowing up. It's important to invest right now," the blond said as he gestured to T-shirts emblazoned with the same symbol as his fan. "You know, the war is really getting quite serious," the man said, his usually lighthearted and silly tone changing suddenly, darkening to a more serious nature.

Ichigo paused, blinking, and nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is," he replied, not really seeing what that had to do with purchasing band shirts, but not feeling the need to bring that up.

"We could really use the Avatar right about now," the man continued, tucking his fan back into his pocket and leaning back, the dim lights of the night lanterns casting shadows from his hat and obscuring his eyes.

Ichigo scoffed. "We could really use people who would start doing things for themselves instead of relying on a dead guy to come save us all," he snapped in response. Feeling ashamed of himself for snapping at the elder, he bowed his head slightly. "Sorry, I-"

Urahara waved him off slightly, a hint of a smile showing on his face even in the dim lighting, and sending a wave of confusion through the young earthbender. Ichigo cleared his throat slightly, and rocked back on to his heels.

The roaring music in the distance suddenly came to a halt, and Ichigo straightened up, turning around to face the sudden quiet. Urahara remained unmoving where he leaned against the wooden beam supporting his shirt stand, his face falling into a disconcerted frown.

Shouts and black smog filled the night air, wafting in from the shore and obscuring the nearly-full moon from view. The air tasted like ash. Ichigo felt his heart sink to his stomach, and he took a sharp breath of air.

He took off in the direction of the concert, shoving people out of his way as they poured out of the stands. "_DAD! _Renji!" Ichigo shouted over the sounds of terror that had begun to fill the air. He looked around several times, shooting the ground underneath him up several feet and looking for a dash of vibrant red hair. His stomach turned when he saw nothing.

He shoved the ground back flat with a twisting motion of his palm, and ran further down the street. "Rukia!" he yelled. "Renji!"

* * *

A hand-servant roughly tightened the fasteners on the chest piece of his armor, and Grimmjow snarled, sending a blast of blue fire from his fingertips and burning the man's hand as he smacked him away.

"Sorry, Sir, so sorry," the man mumbled, clasping his burnt hand with a pained look.

"Go," the exiled prince said in a dark voice that reverberated against the metal walls of the ship that had just touched down on Boulder City. The servant hurried out of the room, hand clasped against his chest, and disappeared down the torch-lit hallway.

"It is rather convenient to be able to attack at night. It adds so much spookiness to what's happening, don't you think? It was always such a bore attacking the Water Tribes, broad daylight and all," Gin said with an errant flip of his hand as he walked into the general's armory.

"I don't have time for you right now Uncle," Grimmjow spat.

Gin smiled as sweetly as he was capable of, which wasn't very sweet considering his normal facial expression. "Of course. Good luck," he said, making himself comfortable as he hid his arms in either sleeve and stood in the middle of the armory.

Shouts and screams of terror rolled in from an open window, and a laugh shook Grimmjow's form as he picked up his weapon, pushing the sword into its sheath at his side. "Oh goodie, the locals are welcoming us," Gin cooed sarcastically.

* * *

"Remember, _no one_ touches him but me," Grimmjow said in a growl as he stalked down the still-closed landing ramp, shoving his way past his armed men in disgust. He should have five times the militia he'd been assigned for such a mission, and definitely more competent ones.

The boat rocked as its tip found solid ground, shoring itself purposely, and the tall, blue-haired royal shifted back on his heels slightly when they lurched forward to come to a stop, the engines having all cut at once, leaving them in sudden quiet. The shouts of alarm from outside were dulled by the thick metal walls, leaving it almost silent inside the ship.

"Lowering the ramp!" was shouted from far behind, and the six-foot-three leader stopped to stand squarely in the front, his men flanking him on either side and filling the enormous loading ramp, anticipation thick in the air.

Then with a loud creaking noise, the wall before him began to lower, and his lips curled up in pure satisfaction as he took in the scene. Soon he would have him, and after that, his _throne_.

As the tip of the Fire Nation cruiser sunk into the ground beneath it, the militia poured off, immediately blasting fire at the walls of the city in practiced formation.

Guards, very few, leapt down from walls. They launched some of his men through the air with rocks, sending them forward with thrusts of their palms and kicks, blocking the flames with earth shields. Grimmjow paused for just a moment, letting them clean out the weakest of his ranks, before stepping forward and electrocuting the nearest guard with a bolt of lightning through his heart.

The man's grey eyes widened in shock as he crumpled to the ground, a few blue sparks flying off his body as it convulsed one final time on the ground. A scowl of disgust transformed General Jaegerjaquez's features and he kicked the body aside, gaze locking on to the main gate of the city. It was made of stone.

The firebender narrowly dodged a flying rock sent his way by one of the earthbenders from behind, and spun around, grabbing his assailant by the throat as a smirk curled around his features.

"You will open this gate for me," he said. "Now."

The earthbender slowly pressed his lips together as if about to speak, and then suddenly spat into the blue-haired firebender's face.

His screams filled the air as fiery heat spread from Grimmjow's hands around his throat. The screams turned to gargled cries, and then silence, and his corpse was thrown aside.

The earthen door was suddenly lowered, and Grimmjow looked up sharply. He wiped the spit off his face in disgust, and moved away from the body as the surrendering guard of the small city ran towards her fallen comrade, tears streaming down her face.

The general stepped into the city, taking in a deep breath and watching as his men began to march inside, blasting fire at each building. The komodo rhinos began charging in next, tearing down the lanterns set up for the festival and leaving some of the thatch buildings in flames.

A man wailed in distress as his cabbage cart was knocked over by one of the rhino's tails, and Grimmjow stalked toward him, glaring down at the cowering man.

"Where is the Avatar?"


	3. Chapter 3

_Book One: Earth_

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Ichigo scoured the screaming crowd, the sound of explosions edging nearer as the young earthbender pushed his way towards where everyone was fleeing. A burst of bright, red flames shot by his side, scorching the very air and causing the cries of terror to grow, and he craned his head to the sound of someone shouting at him.

"_You_, Kurosaki, you're why they're here! This is all _your_ fault! You did this!"

Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks, ignoring the people bowling past him, and then he was jogging off to the side where the cabbage man was lying on the ground, a half of a cabbage head cradled in his hands, his cart nothing more than a giant, angry blue flame behind him. The man himself looked unharmed. The orange-head crouched down. "What happened? Are you o—"

"Don't touch me!" the man shouted, his eyes wide as he shifted away, looking suddenly terrified of him, hugging his piece of cabbage tightly to his chest. "Just go! Just give yourself up, so they'll leave! It's your duty to protect us, isn't it?"

Ichigo frowned as he slowly stood back up, and he glanced around noting more and more armored men blasting red flames from their hands and feet approaching. "I don't know what you're talking about, have you seen my dad?"

The man let out a half cry, half sob and wrapped himself around the pathetic piece of produce, rocking back and forth, and Ichigo almost started to leave when he spoke back up. "Isshin, oh, Isshin, such a loyal, loyal customer, but it had to be done. That blue _devil_ threatened to kill me! You understand, don't you?"

Ichigo felt like his heart stopped, and the explosions and screams around him disappeared as he moved back towards the man. "What do you mean, where _is_ he—"

"Don't hurt me!" the man wailed, "Please, the Avatar wouldn't attack a lowly cabbage vendor, would he? I only told him where you lived, I had to!"

Ichigo took a step back, the man's words not making any sense, except for the last bit. A firebender knew where he lived, and they were going to his home to find his dad. "_No_," he said. The foreboding cloud of black smoke continued to grow, working to blot out the usually star-riddled sky above, leaving the night darker than ever. Ichigo took off in an instant at top speed, elbowing people out of his way, and shoving himself harder with each stride away from the thick smell of ash and smog, almost feeling like he could fly if he had to.

* * *

Ichigo barely stopped to stomp his foot down as he reached his home, shoving down the wall as a temporary door and running inside. He looked back and forth frantically, eyes scanning the unlit house.

Deep scorch marks marred the wooden island, the bookshelf on the left was on the ground, splinters of it littering the stone flooring. Ichigo's old picture books from when he was a kid were burnt almost to the point of being unrecognizable. Some things were completely decimated, like the old rocking chair in the living area, and the air smelled of smoke.

Stomach twisting into knots, the earthbender turned and stalked out of the house, a low buzzing taking over his thoughts, every muscle in his body coiling in anticipation as his heart began to hammer viciously inside his chest. When he was back out on the street, once again assaulted by the screams of children trying to find their mothers and the haunting whoosh of fire flying through the air, he roared, punching the wall of his house and sending it crumbling to pieces.

"_His eyes! _Guys! I found him! It's the Avatar!"

The orange-haired man turned toward the sound of the voice, fury growing in his chest with each shallow exhale, burning like his lungs were going to catch fire, and he took a step toward the celebrating Fire Nation soldier.

"Oh man, the guys at home won't believe - AHHH!" The komodo rhino rider screamed as rocks began to lift into the air all around him, and one nearly missed his head as he ducked.

The rhino reared up, throwing the firebender off his back and charging away through a nearby thatch home, leaving his rider on the ground in front of the furious earthbender.

"W-wait, please-" the man begged as he scrambled to his feet, and he began to back up quickly as Ichigo stalked closer to him. The earthbender's hands closed into fists and the earth beneath him began to shake angrily in response, and with a lifting motion a large portion of the stone ground in front of him ripped itself free, leaving a huge crater in its place, and then it was hurtling at the backwards-fleeing soldier.

There was a heavy grunt of pain on impact and the rock gracefully sailed through the air (a considerable distance) and tore through the wall of the concert stadium, the soldier in tow.

* * *

"_Where - is - he_?"

"S-sir, please, if—Ah!"

General Jaegerjaquez was holding up his hand, the soldier before him holding arms crossed in front of his face as if for protection. The tall man lowered his raised hand slowly, teeth clenching together in a snarl, and then he spoke up, his voice low and deceivingly calm. "I don't want to hear anymore of your excuses. I want to know where the Avatar is. I thought this was his father," he said, motioning sharply to a gagged Isshin, who was tied at the wrists and ankles in a wooden chair atop the stadium's platform where Grimmjow stood with half of his army, the rest searching the crowd of terrified people below.

The foot soldier shook his head, looking helpless. "He is, it's been confirmed, but we can't find him anywhere. We've searched the entire stadium and the surrounding area."

"What about his home?"

"His? Uh, Sir, his—"

"His _home_!" Grimmjow shouted, giving up on keeping his cool, because they were losing time; several falcons had been spotted leaving the small Earth Nation settlement upon their arrival, and backup would be on its way. Most of the success of the mission had been hinged on the element of surprise because of their smaller numbers and the delicate nature of the visit.

The crowd below went quiet at the blue-haired man's shout, but hushed cries of fear quickly started up again, and the crowd began to shuffle around once more with renewed vigor, pushing against guards who barred the exits and tearfully clutching their loved ones'.

The frightened soldier stumbled back a few feet when bluish wisps of smoke began to trail off the general's fingertips. "I'll check right away, Sir!" he cried and then turned and almost fell over his own feet before taking off; the four men in his group sped off after him when narrowed blue eyes shifted to them darkly.

Grimmjow took in a slow breath, cobalt eyes falling shut for a second as he considered his options if the Avatar didn't actually care for the man he'd captured. For some reason no one in the blasted town seemed to actually know the Avatar. It had slowed him down considerably having to extract the information as to his whereabouts when he hadn't even known his name. Fortunately, once he'd realized the odd cabbage salesman wasn't trying to protect the information he sought, he'd only had to give the description of the man he was after, and his orange hair had given him one name.

Kurosaki.

Screams and shouts followed by an earth-shaking thud drew the general's attention back to the present.

One of his soldiers suddenly came crashing through the far stadium wall, propelled by a boulder three times his size and headed straight for him. Grimmjow neatly stepped out of the way, a stray piece of earth brushing his ear as the wind from the projectile ruffled his electric blue hair. The boulder crashed into the ground behind the raised platform with a thud and a groan, leaving only the man's arms and legs flailing underneath the heavy rock. Then the sound of his army shouting in alarm to fall back met his ears.

The exiled prince cocked his head to one side, listening as the noises grew in intensity, and then he stalked back towards the gagged, black-haired man, whose eyes had grown comically large, alarm clear in his expression for the first time since he'd been captured.

A slow smile curled around Grimmjow's lips as he turned to face the opening the boulder had left, watching intently as the dust began to settle. "Finally."


	4. Chapter 4

_Book One: Earth_

**Chapter Four**

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**A/N:** _Just a quick shout-out to all of our awesome reviewers who have been so supportive and nice! Zayabel Draga, NatalieMcLarent, Heavenly God, Black Bankai, Soya Pie, doberainbow, Guest, Alessandra Fukada, and Person33! Thank you guys so much for reviewing last chapter. It means so much._

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"Don't touch him."

Kurosaki's voice rang out into the stadium as the dust settled, and Grimmjow's eyes widened with excitement, his smile growing into a teeth-baring grin as he barked out a laugh. "You finally decide to make an appearance then, _Avatar_," he said in a rumbling tone.

Gasps rang out from the crowd of trapped people, and Grimmjow lifted his arm and flicked the back of his hand toward his waiting guards. They immediately moved out of the way of the scrambling, petrified crowd, allowing the townsfolk to pour out of the exits, only a few staying to sit with family members who had been injured in altercations with the guards or trapped in the wreckage.

"I don't know why you're calling me the Avatar, but if you hurt my dad I swear-"

Grimmjow waved his hand dismissively, the smile falling from his lips as he approached the platform's edge to look out at the earthbender, a feeling of surprise overtaking him as the dust finally cleared and the age of the supposed Avatar became more clear.

He couldn't be older than eighteen, and seemed to be around his own age. It certainly wasn't what the Fire Nation prince had come prepared for.

"Don't worry, he won't be harmed as long as you come quietly," the general said, a puzzled expression overtaking him as he looked the orange-haired teenager up and down.

Ichigo stiffened and froze in place, every muscle in his body protesting. He gritted his teeth together, and looked to his dad, unable to read his wide-eyed expression.

"Tick-tock," Grimmjow hummed, his smirk widening again as he trailed casually closer to the black-haired man's chair, kicking out one of its legs and sending it clattering to the ground. Isshin collapsed with the chair he was bound to and hit the ground with a muffled groan of pain.

Ichigo roared, his vision fizzling out as his heart rate spiked, and Grimmjow's eyes widened in excitement as he watched the Avatar's eyes glow ominously blue, and the earth all around them began to shake violently. Ichigo felt his thoughts begin to lull, an odd feeling of peace and serenity sweeping over him and his feet starting to leave the ground as the air around him whipped faster and faster. He could hear his own racing heart start to fade into the background as a whooshing noise drowned out his senses.

The blue-haired Fire Nation prince leapt toward the bound man as the Avatar began to lift from the ground and the earthquake intensified, pulling him and the broken chair off the ground with one hand and using the other to hold a flame close to the man's face. "Stop now or he dies," he shouted over the winds, ignoring the muffled sounds of terror from his men as they shifted restlessly, the rhino riders struggling to hold their mounts still as they bucked and spun in circles.

At that, Ichigo's eyes flickered back to brown and his feet gently touched the ground again, the earth slowing to a slight rumble as he forced out a long, slow exhale, and the senses of his surroundings slowly returned. He blinked, a wave of exhaustion suddenly rushing through him, and he forced out a stiff nod, not sure what had just happened. "Let him go," he said quietly.

Grimmjow nodded, then motioned toward his guards with his chin. Two swept up from behind Ichigo, grabbing his arms and pulling them behind his back, quickly cuffing him with metal handcuffs.

"Let him go _now_," the orange-haired Avatar reiterated, his voice nearing a snarl.

"Of course," Grimmjow replied with a slight smile, and walked away from the bound man, motioning with his hand to the rest of his militia. A few soldiers split off and quickly cut free Isshin, leaving the gag in place.

A feeling of relief swept over him as he caught a last glimpse of his father rubbing at his rope-burned wrists and reaching up to pull off his own gag, before he was roughly turned around by the guards holding him, seeing in the corner of his eye his dad being held back by some militia as he tried to move toward Ichigo. The Avatar pinched his eyes closed, feeling confused, tired, but at ease now that his dad was okay. As he was pushed out of the stadium, he heard Renji's familiar voice roaring something unintelligible, and he felt his shoulders droop even further as he realized he was okay too.

The orange-haired earthbender ignored the sound of the Fire Nation general's voice barking orders as he was herded on to an ugly, black, metal ship that stank of cold metal, sea, and smoke.

There were a few moments of blissful quiet as the men loaded back on to the ship, the blue-haired general loading up last, and then the sickening creak of the ship's metal tip snapping back upright, blotting out the sight of flames burning down his village that Ichigo could sense behind closed eyes.

It was dark.

* * *

Ash spiraled down, silently covering scalded stones with a hot, black blanket. There were soft cries and confused voices, some fires being put out, others left burning because the damage was so far gone.

"I don't understand, why did they want him?" Renji shouted, having given up on trying to escape Rukia's grip on his arms, her feet and ankles rooted to the ground with rocks. He glared in distress at the departing Fire Nation cruiser containing their friend, its tall smoke stack pumping out plumes of noxious black gas furiously. "What were they talking about? _Avatar_?" He laughed desperately. "Ichigo isn't the _Avatar_, why did he go with them?!"

Rukia shook her head slowly, gently releasing her friend, her own expression uncharacteristically unsure. "I don't know," she spoke quietly, searching the sounds and vibrations surrounding her until she found what she was looking for. "We should ask Isshin."

"Yeah, yeah you're right, he'll know what's going on, let's go," Renji said, sounding only slightly more calmed. He began to scan the distressed crowd, but before he could spot the man he was being pulled by his sleeve towards the stadium, which most of the townspeople were avoiding like the plague.

The two teenagers slipped past Rukia's older brother, Byakuya, who was talking quietly with a small group of worried shop owners. He hadn't been at the festival but had shown up shortly after seeing the ash from his estate outside of town. They made their way south towards the platform, zigzagging between turned over chairs, rubble, and concerned older citizens who had once served in the militia.

"My son! My only child! Oh I knew this would happen, he was bound to get kidnapped-" Isshin wailed inconsolably from atop the stadium as some of the townsfolk comforted him, a frail elderly lady pulling away when one of his flailing arms got too close to smacking her in the face.

Renji sped up, jogging up the stairs, Rukia directly behind him. "Mr. Kurosaki!" the redhead shouted as he approached, drawing the large, whimpering man's head up. "Why did they take Ichigo, what was that all about?" he shouted heatedly, getting worked up again, "Why aren't you going after him? I—"

"Renji! You were always Ichigo's second favorite friend!" The tall dark-haired man pushed himself up, grabbing the tall redhead and guiding him immediately away from the crowd of people who'd been consoling him. He stopped when they were at the edge, and he looked down at Rukia and then him with a suddenly serious expression, his words rushed. "Why are you not with Urahara? You should be gone by now."

Renji opened his mouth. Then closed it. He opened it again. "Sir...?" he asked the burly man with hesitance. "Why would we—"

"There's no time!" Isshin whisper-shouted, shaking Renji as he spoke. "Go to Kisuke Urahara. I can't go with you, I'm being _watched_." He nodded his head a few times to the ground below them and off to the right.

Renji lifted a red brow and slowly followed the path at which the man was motioning. There were no less than ten tall men in black hooded robes, only their faces visible, watching them closely. One spit on to the ground. His chest puffed up, and he started to reach for his dagger.

"Listen to me," Isshin said, shaking the teen again and making his teeth clack together. "Go now, there's _no _time, if they get to open sea your chances will be almost non-existent."

Renji pinched one eye as he took in a slow breath to speak.

"Mr. Hat-and-Clogs?" Rukia asked, pushing herself into the small circle. She looked up with unseeing eyes, her expression determined. "Where is he?"

Renji frowned, and opened his mouth again.

"He should be at my house," Isshin said in a hurry, and then glanced over at the group of poorly disguised Fire Nation soldiers, who were beginning to glare at him suspiciously, before pulling Renji and Rukia into an uncomfortable hug. "Thank you, thank you for your concerns, may Ichigo live on in our hearts!" He spoke in an abnormally loud voice.

Then the built man released them and discreetly shoved them back towards the stairs with an unusually sincere look.

* * *

Ichigo fell into a fitful sleep. He tried for a while to keep himself awake in the dark of his cell, at the very bottom floor of the cruiser, but the persisting exhaustion wouldn't go away.

In his dream he saw the feathered red panda, bounding away. A blue wisp of a girl holding a peace lily. A massive, white, winged wolf, at least the size of a small elephant, reaching out its snout and touching its wet nose to his head, then licking him in a friendly, dog-like manner. Then the wolf howled, the noise chilling Ichigo to his core, and he found himself awake again in his cell, gasping for breath but feeling more awake as the boat rocked with the rhythm of the ocean.

A torch was burning outside his metal cell, and he locked gazes with his blue-haired captor, noting his cobalt eyes illuminated by his blue fire torch.

"What do you want from me?" Ichigo asked quietly as the man settled down cross-legged outside of the cell wall, ignoring the ache in his arms from where he was cuffed still.

"Me? Nothing. My father, on the other hand, sees the Avatar as a threat to his rule," the man replied, head tilted with an inquisitive look.

Ichigo blinked, opened and then closed his mouth, and puzzled at the man for a moment. He looked different without his armor on, and he berated himself for noticing that he wasn't bad-looking, either - despite his cotton-candy blue hair and all.

"I'm not the Avatar you know," he offered, rolling on to his side away from the Fire Nation general. "Who's your dad, anyway?"

"Fire Lord Aizen," the response came with a jeering tone attached. "And unfortunately, playing dumb isn't going to get you released."

Ichigo felt his blood chill, his eyes widening slightly as he stared unseeing into the dark at the wall farthest from him. The ground was frigid beneath him, but suddenly none of that mattered.

He was going to die. The Fire Lord was going to kill him, either because he wasn't the Avatar, or because he _thought_ he was the Avatar and wanted him dead anyway.

"I've got to admit, you're a lot younger than I anticipated."

Ichigo snorted at that, pressing his face into the cold metal flooring and letting his eyes drift closed. "Thanks, but I assume you didn't come down here to compliment me," he said scathingly.

"I'm here to ensure you don't escape. None of my men are competent enough for me to trust them," the prince responded, sounding thoroughly miffed as he lit candles around himself in a meditation circle, having put out his torch and set it aside.

"Oh yeah, got to worry I'll earthbend my way out of this metal ship," Ichigo replied sarcastically, gritting his teeth as he heard the flames of the candles light one-by-one. He hated that sound. "Watch out," he snapped, his tone biting.

Grimmjow laughed, and then nothing else was said. Ichigo ground his teeth together harder and pressed his forehead into the metal floor, trying to ignore the blue light while the man meditated in silence.

"How long do I - until we get to the Fire Nation capitol?" Ichigo asked quietly after a moment.

"A few days, weather permitting."

* * *

"Good _morning_!" a sing-song voice awoke Ichigo the next day. He rolled over and sat up in a single motion, brown eyes pinched with sleep and disorientation. The boat was still, and the earthbender stared blankly at the grey-haired, fox-looking man who stood outside of his cell.

There was a tray of food laid out in front of him, with a steaming glass of warm-smelling tea on the side.

"What's this?" Ichigo asked blankly as he blinked at the buttered roll and oatmeal with fresh fruit on top of it, his stomach rumbling quietly at the sight.

"Breakfast and tea," the man chirped, tucking his hands into his sleeves and smiling. He'd been smiling to begin with, but now he was smiling... more.

Ichigo peered around the man's legs and then suddenly realized his hands weren't cuffed anymore, and lifted them up to his face, seeing the red marks the binds had left and rubbing his wrists idly.

Then he blinked and looked around for the blue-haired Fire Nation prince. He was gone, and so were all his stupid candles. "Where- uh, I mean, thanks," Ichigo said, reaching down and taking a bite of the roll and chewing quietly.

"Those are poisoned," the man said with an even wider smile.

Ichigo's eyes widened and spit the food out in to a conveniently placed napkin-

"Just kidding, that would be silly," the grey-haired firebender said. "Bye-bye!" he called over his shoulder, lifting a hand to wave as he strolled out of the dungeon.

Ichigo blinked, looked down at his food, and then sprawled on to his back to stare at the ceiling for a little while.

* * *

The door of the dungeon was swung open a couple hours later, and Ichigo stopped in his pacing to look at the door, finding himself once again face-to-face with the Prince of the Fire Nation.

He was carrying a new tray of food, and Ichigo looked down at his untouched breakfast tray, feeling an unwarranted pang of guilt that he quickly brushed aside. It wasn't like he was their guest or something. He was a prisoner.

Grimmjow followed his gaze down to the untouched meal and seemed nonplussed, simply setting the food tray aside on a table outside the cell.

"Let's fight," Grimmjow said, approaching the lock to Ichigo's door with a key in his hand.

"What?" Ichigo asked in a stunned voice, chocolate eyes widening as his jaw dropped slightly.

"I'm practicing today, and my current Master is no longer a challenge. I figure that there's little more challenging than the Avatar himself," the man explained as he turned the key in the lock of the door, pulling it open.

Ichigo blinked several times. "How am I supposed to fight you out in the middle of the ocean?" he deadpanned.

Grimmjow snorted. "You have the whole sea. Look at it this way: if you drown me, you get to go free. And if I win, I'm not allowed to kill you. It's a win-win."

Ichigo gaped openly at the blue-haired madman.

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